Tired migrant labourers sat on tracks after walking 36 kms, fell asleep, run over by goods train, 15 killed
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Aurangabad (Maharashtra): Fifteen migrant labourers have died after a goods train ran over a group of 16 labourers asleep on the railway tracks early on Friday in Maharashtra. The home-bound exhausted lot were run over between Jalna and Aurangabad.
A Railway Ministry official told IANS, “At least 14 people died on the spot and two injured in the incident.” When the injured were shifted to a government hospital in Ghati, one of them succumbed to his injuries, he added.
A senior railway official confirmed that the migrant group was run over by the goods train running in the Nanded Division of South Central Railway. The incident happened around 5.30 a.m. when the migrants, who were on their way back to their homes fell asleep on the railway tracks.
The official said that an empty petroleum tanker train was proceeding from Cherlapalli in Telangana to Paniwadi, near Manmad in Maharashtra. “After passing Badnapur station, the locopilot saw some people on the tracks and tried to control it and sounded the horn also, but by the time he could do, it was too late,” South Central spokesperson Rakesh told IANS.
According to information the workers were walking to Bhusawal from Jalna, and further onward to Madhya Pradesh. Rakesh said these people were lying on the tracks. An enquiry has been ordered by the Commissioner, Railway Safety.
A senior railway ministry official in Delhi said that those run over by train are labourers and residents of Madhya Pradesh’s Umarya and Shahdol and worked in SRG Company in Maharashtra’s Jalna.
He said, as per the statements of the survivors, the group had left Jalna on Thursday at 7 p.m. on foot initially on road upto Badnapore and later on the track towards Aurangabad.
“After walking for about 36 km, they became tired and sat on the track for taking some rest and gradually fell asleep,” he said, adding that 14 people sat on the track, two members adjacent to the track and three members away from track.
He said that senior officials of the Nanded division and the Government Rail Police (GRP) and local police had rushed to the accident site.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the kin of the dead.
(This story has not been edited by The English Post except for making a change in the headline)
By IANS
